Thengai Srinivasan

Thengai Srinivasan Biography

Thengai Srinivasan was a popular actor of Tamil cinema most noted for comic roles. He was a stage actor before joining movies and for his memorable role as a coconut seller in ‘Kal Manam’, the tag ‘Thengai’ (meaning coconut) got added to him name permanently. This name was declared by comedian K. A. Thangavelu, who watched the drama and got impressed by his work. Apart from comic roles, he proved to be an all-rounder appearing on screen in leading, supporting as well as grey shaded roles to entertain crowds. He was most active in the eras of 1960’s and 1970’s. He had more than 900 films to his credit. His exclusive gestures and improvised comedy dialogues were crowd pulling in those days. Kasethan Kadavulada and Thillu Mullu are noted for his breakthrough performances.

His native place was Srivaikuntam in Tuticorin district. He was born in the year 1937. At the age of 7, the family got shifted to Chennai. His father, Rajavelu Mudaliar was a stage actor and it inspired young Srinivasan to join the same line. Galatta Kalyanam’ staged by his father, marked the beginning of Srinivasan as a stage actor. Later he joined an amateur drama troupe run by writer Ravindar and actor K. Kannan which made Srinivasan an established stage actor. Through his success as a stage actor, he got film offers from Tamil cinema.

‘Oru viral’ was his debut Tamil movie in which he played the role of a CID officer. Later he has been associated with numerous movies of both the leading actors – MGR and Sivaji Ganesan. He produced a film with Sivaji, ‘Krishnan vandhaan’. His dream project with MGR didn’t flourish. With 1980’s, he worked with new rising stars of Tamil cinema - Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan. He died at an early age of 51 years following a cerebral hemorrhage and stroke.

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Updated: March 31, 2014